1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a compact and efficient waste management system for processing organic food waste, green compost material, and the like in order to produce sources of clean energy, fuel and fertilizer. Organic waste is shredded, compressed so that the liquid is extracted therefrom, heated and dried, shaped into solid pellets, and cooled to be suitable for packaging and distribution.
2. Background Art
In a “green” society, it is becoming increasingly important to be able to recycle organic waste that might otherwise be disposed of such that the organic components thereof are lost. For example, scraps of food and green waste discarded by restaurants, hotels and food service companies often wind up in landfills where they are left to decay. Although organic waste processing apparatus are known, such apparatus are typically large, complex, costly and, therefore, inefficient to operate. By way of example, composting machines sometimes require as long as 8 to 10 weeks to be able to process and recycle green waste, whereby such machines are impractical for use on a large scale basis where large volumes of organic waste must be processed quickly and without requiring large waste storage areas and the inherent disadvantages associated therewith.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have access to a compact waste management system where large volumes of food waste, green compost material, and the like can be quickly and efficiently processed and converted to useful by-products such as clean energy, fuel and fertilizer. Reference may be made in this regard to my patent application Ser. No. 13/371,550 published on Aug. 15, 2013 under Publication No. US2013/0205613 for an example of such a compact and efficient waste management system.